Key elements to organise a mass dog vaccination campaign Dr Rauna Athingo Chief Veterinarian- North West, Animal Disease control National Coordinator for Rabies Elimination project, Namibia OIE Animal Welfare event for West eurasia countries Tashkent, Uzbekistan 27-29 September 2017
Key points Main objective of dog vaccination as control measures should be geared towards prevention and elimination of dog mediated human rabies. Theoretical, a 70% of vaccination coverage (WHO, 2013) is enough to achieve control and eventual elimination of rabies. Mass vaccination of dogs is the most successful and sustainable method for control and possibly elimination of dog mediated human rabies (OIE, 2015).
Important elements of any given vaccination campaign Legal framework and political will Leadership Budget allocation Training Public and stakeholder commitment Logistic Planning
Legal framework and political will Rabies should be a notifiable disease both for humans and animals (regulatory framework) National and regional laws (Policies and Legislations) Well defined control strategies in place Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in place Support from the decision makers
National committee appointed- National coordinator Regional committee- Regional coordinator Implementation level- Champions Well trained vaccination team leaders and vaccinators, animal handlers and educators Leadership
Public and stakeholder commitment Collaboration across sectors and disciplines is crucial; Present the burden of rabies and the feasibility of addressing it together Find a common ground towards implementation process Own the project requires consistent and sustained commitment, underpinned by strong health and veterinary systems. working together to raise awareness and commitment to step-up the fight against rabies.
Training of staffs/personnel To be facilitated by the relevant training authority (ies). To be conducted on a regular basis and should cover: Legislations SOP and response guidelines Campaign planning and executions Information dissemination and awareness rising Disease diagnosis Advise on post-exposure therapy Animal welfare, handling and vaccination Record keeping
Resources Infrastructure (cold chain maintenance) Transport (car or quad bikes) Equipment and material Vaccines Handling equipments Megaphones Syringes and needles Cooler boxes Certificates Tables and chairs Logistics 1/2
Logistics 2/2 Safety boxes Water/food clothes for the vaccinator well defined team compositions and their roles Record keeping
Planning -Important consideration Target area (where) Hot spot area? Target population (dogs 70% coverage) Timing and frequency(when and how often) consider social aspects of the community involved Time of the year depends on population turnover, duration of immunity Period (how long is campaign) clearly defined and be short to avoid fatigue During weekends or during school holidays to improve turnout (children often bring their dog)
Whole country, region, constituency Have data on annual incidents of dogs/year and human rabies through dog bite incidents Knowledge of the current epidemiological situation through surveillance Knowledge of dog population( size and ecology) dog/human ratio Target area
All dogs, regardless of: Age, Weight, Health. Avoid too sick animals (surveillance purpose) Cats when presented at vaccination point campaigns Target population
Timing and frequency Annual basis but can be conducted more frequently (high turnover) During weekends or during school holidays to improve turnout (children often bring their dog)
Record keeping of past trends Active and passive surveillance an ongoing activity All reported suspected cases must be investigated Surveillance networks and laboratory diagnostic should be in place/ put in place and sustained Surveillance
Monitoring and evaluation Are targets set in the action plan achieved? What were the constraints and how best could be solved? Current trends in the disease 'post-mortem' meetings with stakeholders to evaluate, correct action and disseminate results
Thank you!